Comments by Federico

The entire project is, to quote Caruso, "... inconsistent with the economically sound enhancement of public recreational opportunities along the coast.” Local Montecito/Miramar residents & visitors to 'the coast' don't need Caruso's 'economics' or development to Go Surfing, Paddling, Swimming, Cycling, Beachgoing, walking their Dogs, attending services at All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church, living in a peaceful, tranquil neighborhood or any other 'recreational opportunity' his Invasive, Selfish & Greedy Plan offers the community. No doubt many local residents aren't even fully aware of his proposals. When an army of construction vehicles & workers descend on them for 2 years before the 'guests' even arrive is when many will complain rather than now. By then, well...it will be too late. Now is the Time to wrangle in Slick Rick's plans, ESPECIALLY with regard to anyone at all having a( 'guaranteed right?!) to the local Parking Issue. PS ~ Humphrey Road certainly IS 'adjacent' to the impacted area of the project. Anyone who lives or spends time in the neighborhood knows that.

Caruso pretends to 'be concerned' about the welfare & happiness of local Montecito residents. Feigning parking, environmental & esthetic concerns ~ meanwhile pulling the same shady act on Pacific Palisades residents just down the road with their similar in many ways long-standing community as Montecito's Village. Looking to completely urbanize the existing intact Mid-Century Character of The Palisades by transforming that community's urban center to his own Cheesy Version of Yuppie Plantation Mall Blandness as he did with LA's Grove and Brand Centers (glorified malls). Charming his way there with local residents with his 'Sensitivity to the Retro Ambiance of your Community' speeches just the same as he continues to do here for his own self-serving profit ~ Be Smart Montecito before it's Too Late • http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/12...

Nick Welsh you know you are my one & only favorite SB Journalist that Has a Clue ~ but the Irony in your article's title belies all the content within for anyone who really knows the History here. Another 'Developer's' DisneyLand Vision of what the whole Urban Core of Santa Barbara has become. At least this guy most likely won't Tear Down any Historic Adobes behind our backs if he even knows what one is... (Love ya anyway) Cheers ~ FH

I live nearby the Hosmer & have spent many a good time there as the guest of former tenants for many years. Having grown up in an adobe & also lived in another Historic Santa Barbara Landmark one, this issue has been of particular note to me around here as a long time local. The sad part is, about 75% of the property, including historic water tower (partially still standing), the charming 1930's Guest House and the circa 1850 addition which was directly attached and part of the Adobe have been destroyed by the owners, the same ones we can now thank for the complete Gentrification of the Funk Zone, another historic neighborhood suddenly almost completely devoid of 'Funk', working local artisans or craftspeople. We have the same aforementioned owners and soul-less Builders & Architects who push Local Historic Landmarks aside like this to thank for this. THANK YOU to the Pearl Chase Society for coming to the rescue, albeit Better Late than Never. Perhaps all of us Locals, City & County Planning Departents can be a little more Forthright in the Future to Babysit these Devoid of Soul Developers that in the end, only rob our Long-Standing Local Culture for personal greed & gratifiction ~ Cheers, F

"...In conclusion, Genis noted that even Judge Hill had described him as “probably the best DUI lawyer on the Central Coast,” and because of his prowess the District Attorney had “gone to extraordinary lengths to try to muzzle me.”

Having been around at the time & read many books on this subject, wanted to point out with regard to something everyone supposedly agrees, the elimination of errors mis-information & conjecture here..(pretty much more than any ANY other subject, ever)?!

Not sure it's actually the book title, 'Murder in Dealy Plaza' by the brilliant Conspiracy Theory authors, or multiple typos on the write/editor's part, but as the this entire article is based on the subject of, for the Official Warren Commission record, everybody else's version and pretty much common knowledge, for 50 years

re. News of the Week (decade) : Maybe there's a solution to Mr. Rowse's lamenting a lack of State St. power washing, or underfunded City Programs, Police manpower, etc. Perhaps the City could LEARN FROM OTHER CITIES surrounding their own & learn to not constantly Bite the Hands that Feed them by concentrating on ridding Downtown of the hundreds of nasty homeless & panhandlers the rest of us Citizens, Merchants & Tourists (all paying TOP DOLLAR for the privilege) ~ are forced to 'cohabitate' with. Downtown, Funk Zone, East Beach, West Beach, you name it, they're everywhere, along with SB Police babysitting them. THEN perhaps powerwashing & babysitting all of their Daily Nastiness away could become much less of an issue and your aforementioned fact that fully 10% of SBPD Manpower, along with City & County Finance used on the Homeless (how much is THAT?) could be freed up to combat REAL crime like your aforementioned Gang stabbing RIGHT in the middle of all of us on the corner of State & Canon Perdido, as also detailed on the page. How many police were engaged in babysitting babbling bums while that was going on in the middle of their jurisdiction..? Come On City of Santa Barbara/City Council....!! You seem more concerned about cleaning up & providing for the irresponsible non-citizens that ruin Downtown for the rest of us rather than Sending Them Down the Road Once & For All so we can have a Civilized Community back ! Take a trip to Hermosa Beach or San Luis Obispo for the day...if that's a stretch for you, even Carpinteria will do as an example. Perhaps since no mention was made of what happened to our $600,000 (!!) in Parking Ticket fees your Police Lady made off with while you engaged her to 'find the deficit', not to mention monies collected by the City for cars towed/impounded/re-sold as a result of, (how much more is THAT??!!) maybe SHE can kick down for some of it... Quite a page 10 of contradictions.

As a working Commercial Artist first working and living within, (since 1984), the Funk Zone, I'd like to share a couple points ~ as Charming as it may seem for the newer artistes to the community, 'Collaborative'- minded 'Arts-Aware' folk and Concerned Citizens to extol the Virtues of the Funk Zone, those of us Working-Class Artistes in the Neighborhood are well aware of what we have, where we work & live here. Sadly, as someone with over 30 years' time in this area, precisely for its charm & history, would agree with what is literally, thanks to my Dear Friend of over 20 years, Wallace and others like him, the Writing is Indeed on the Wall for this neighborhood. The City of Santa Barbara ultimately controls what becomes of our neighborhoods. Case in Point ~ in your story, the aforementioned Loughhead Brothers, née (Lockheed Aircraft) original hangar/garages were right here in the Funk Zone, a location that most easily could have qualified on the National Register of Historic Places, allowing it Federal Protection, like a National Park. Those garages were unceremoniously leveled with approval by the City for commercial development : http://www.pbs.org/kcet/chasingthesun.... I suspect very few in City government would even know their former location today. Another great building to disappear in the Funk Zone, the beautiful European-style 1920s building at Anacapa & Mason sts., Now home to a vacant lot. Case in Point II ~ a previous generation of longtime Working Class artisans & craftspeople were also evicted from the Zone in 2010 by the City as reported in The Independent : http://www.independent.com/news/2010/.... The Bottom Line ~ adding more wine-sipping, microbrew-swilling big screen football watching SUV driving Tourists & Yuppies-in Training generate much larger income for developers & the City & County of Santa Barbara than us artistes in residence ever will. Witness the transformations of SoHo & Greenwich Village/NYC or closer to home, the $15 Million in County bed tax contingencies given to Miramar Hotel owner ( who lives in LA) Rick Caruso, just for tearing down the old & probably never building a new. I for one don't see the City taking any steps to designate the Funk Zone an 'Arts District', sad as that may be. I doubt the smartest and longest tenured artists & residents in the Zone will be showing up for any High-profile 'Arts Awareness' groups, or the press, and frankly stories like this one, are only putting us on the Endargered Species list down here. Oh, and perhaps where real innovative gallery art in Santa Barbara is concerned, folks like Frank Goss & Co., would have it in their best interest seeking out some real leading edge Santa Barbara artists to show for them, rather than the other way around. Thanks for the story...Cheers, Fred Hill/ FhD ~ Santa Barbara